Headlight upgrade

hi there,

looking to upgrade my headlights from what i assume at 60/55W bulbs. i've got some 100/90 bulbs in the garage from my old bike but i think they'll be too much for the wiring, would the boomslang loom help with this - https://www.paddockspares.com/pm330-boomslang-performance-headlight-loom.html , or do most people just opt for +200% 60/55 bulbs from halfords etc. do they make much of a difference?

any recommendations for good bulbs welcomed.

cheers

Steve

You will find the boom slang loom an advantage & may not need to change the bulbs. Some of these sellers of the looms are crap. You can build your own if you’re good with electrics

Watts = Volts x Amps.
Amps= Watts/Volts

60W bulb draws 5A
100W bulb draws 8.33A

That much current through wiring not designed for that current is recipe for problems.
Also the 100W bulb produces a lot more heat than a 60W bulb, almost twice as much.
If your headlamps have plastic bowls then you are also heading for problems.

Boomslang looms are not a straight forward fit (as many have found). The idea is sound though.
The existing lighting circuit draws less than 1/2 an Amp when fitted.

Make one up yourself.
Run a fused 25A supply through some 2.5mm2 cables to a relay (power in p30).
Use the existing feed to the headlamp to feed the 'trigger' on the relay (p86).
Connect p87 to the headlamp/bulb and p85 to ground using the existing wires.
You need 4 relays.

Site the relays near to the headlamps, on the inside of the wing behind the headlamps (for example).
If you put the relays far away from the lamps, you should fit new cables from p30 to the headlamps.

Relays and cables from 12voltplanet.co.uk they also doo some neat sockets and boxes.

The bulbs are the same as used in a lot of other vehicles, and the headlamps themselves are the fairly-standard 7-inch bowl. They should be more than good enough if everything is in good order. Rather than fitting more powerful bulbs, check that you are indeed getting full voltage at the headlamps with them switched on. High resistance anywhere in the circuit will cause a voltage drop which results in dim bulbs, which will only be more apparent if high-current bulbs are fitted to try and compensate. Particularly the dip switch can be prone to trouble.

Upgrading with additional relays is the best solution.

miktdish said:

Watts = Volts x Amps.
Amps= Watts/Volts

60W bulb draws 5A
100W bulb draws 8.33A

That much current through wiring not designed for that current is recipe for problems.
Also the 100W bulb produces a lot more heat than a 60W bulb, almost twice as much.
If your headlamps have plastic bowls then you are also heading for problems.

Boomslang looms are not a straight forward fit (as many have found). The idea is sound though.
The existing lighting circuit draws less than 1/2 an Amp when fitted.

Make one up yourself.
Run a fused 25A supply through some 2.5mm2 cables to a relay (power in p30).
Use the existing feed to the headlamp to feed the 'trigger' on the relay (p86).
Connect p87 to the headlamp/bulb and p85 to ground using the existing wires.
You need 4 relays.

Site the relays near to the headlamps, on the inside of the wing behind the headlamps (for example).
If you put the relays far away from the lamps, you should fit new cables from p30 to the headlamps.

Relays and cables from 12voltplanet.co.uk they also doo some neat sockets and boxes.

Automotive Relay Guide | 12 Volt Planet

Read our guide to relays found in vehicle electrical systems. How they work, why they're used and some example applications

www.12voltplanet.co.uk

Click to expand...

Nice one, thanks for the feedback. i'll be stashing this and looking at the parts list. many thanks.

drfoster said:

hi there,

looking to upgrade my headlights from what i assume at 60/55W bulbs. i've got some 100/90 bulbs in the garage from my old bike but i think they'll be too much for the wiring, would the boomslang loom help with this - https://www.paddockspares.com/pm330-boomslang-performance-headlight-loom.html , or do most people just opt for +200% 60/55 bulbs from halfords etc. do they make much of a difference?

any recommendations for good bulbs welcomed.

cheers

Steve

Click to expand...

What vehicle?

There are lots of options on lights.

The actual light unit and lens can make a difference. So bear this mind.

Getting a good 12+v at the bulb will offer the most performance. There will be resistance in the factory loom. You don't really need to do anything special, all you are doing is converting the headlights to run through a relay, using the existing wiring to activate the relay. Same as you would when fitting spot lights.

Higher wattage bulbs are an option, although less common these days. 80/100w should be fine. Think I've run 90/130w years ago. Might also find some 80/120w too, haven't looked for ages. High wattage bulbs will be hotter out the front and draw more current.

However there are lots of 55/60w bulbs that offer higher outputs. These seem a sensible option these days. Although some have a blue tint on the bulb which I'm personally less keen on. Such as the Osram Nightbreakers:


I found the colour temp changed from dip to mainbeam, which really irritated me and mainbeam while bright just wasn't a very nice tint for country driving, making the greens and browns all appear a bit more grey'ish.

I prefer their silver line as the tint is nicer and more consistent:


If you want to move away from halogen there are some options.

In theory it is not legal to run LED or Xenon bulbs in your headlights. You could fit new LED units or Xenon ones, but they would need to be approved, you'd also need headlight washers and some kind of auto self levelling facility.

However if you are comfortable with running LED or Xenon bulbs it does open up options. Xenon is less obvious for the most part and does offer a lovely tint that is right around 4300-5000k. Arguably the nicest light of any headlight source. Xenon does need to warm up when you first turn them on, but a good option otherwise. Biggest issue is buying a quality set. Ebay is littered with naff rubbish that usually turns out to be very blue light. But shop about and there are some nice Xenon sets.

LED is also an issue. 99% of the bulbs on the market are a high Kelvin rating which offers shocking ice white or blue light. This has poor colour rendition and also induces eye strain. So you really need to research to make sure you get a good LED bulb. It is also a bit of trial and error as some LED bulbs cause a terrible profile. It will also vary based on what lamp units you have too.

So it will be trial and error, buy some, fit them. Then check to see if the beam profile is ok or not. If not, you'll need to send them back and try some others. LED bulbs are also very obvious due to the colour of the beam. So you may get pulled come MoT time.

There are some warm white LED options, but these may not out perform a good halogen setup by much.

300bhp/ton said:

What vehicle?

There are lots of options on lights.

The actual light unit and lens can make a difference. So bear this mind.

Getting a good 12+v at the bulb will offer the most performance. There will be resistance in the factory loom. You don't really need to do anything special, all you are doing is converting the headlights to run through a relay, using the existing wiring to activate the relay. Same as you would when fitting spot lights.

Higher wattage bulbs are an option, although less common these days. 80/100w should be fine. Think I've run 90/130w years ago. Might also find some 80/120w too, haven't looked for ages. High wattage bulbs will be hotter out the front and draw more current.

However there are lots of 55/60w bulbs that offer higher outputs. These seem a sensible option these days. Although some have a blue tint on the bulb which I'm personally less keen on. Such as the Osram Nightbreakers:

NIGHT BREAKER LASER H4 | OSRAM Automotive

www.osram.com

I found the colour temp changed from dip to mainbeam, which really irritated me and mainbeam while bright just wasn't a very nice tint for country driving, making the greens and browns all appear a bit more grey'ish.

I prefer their silver line as the tint is nicer and more consistent:

NIGHT BREAKER SILVER H4 | OSRAM Automotive

www.osram.com

If you want to move away from halogen there are some options.

In theory it is not legal to run LED or Xenon bulbs in your headlights. You could fit new LED units or Xenon ones, but they would need to be approved, you'd also need headlight washers and some kind of auto self levelling facility.

However if you are comfortable with running LED or Xenon bulbs it does open up options. Xenon is less obvious for the most part and does offer a lovely tint that is right around 4300-5000k. Arguably the nicest light of any headlight source. Xenon does need to warm up when you first turn them on, but a good option otherwise. Biggest issue is buying a quality set. Ebay is littered with naff rubbish that usually turns out to be very blue light. But shop about and there are some nice Xenon sets.

LED is also an issue. 99% of the bulbs on the market are a high Kelvin rating which offers shocking ice white or blue light. This has poor colour rendition and also induces eye strain. So you really need to research to make sure you get a good LED bulb. It is also a bit of trial and error as some LED bulbs cause a terrible profile. It will also vary based on what lamp units you have too.

So it will be trial and error, buy some, fit them. Then check to see if the beam profile is ok or not. If not, you'll need to send them back and try some others. LED bulbs are also very obvious due to the colour of the beam. So you may get pulled come MoT time.

There are some warm white LED options, but these may not out perform a good halogen setup by much.

Pair of Warm White LED Headlights H4 Hi/Lo Beam Conversion 9-32V Excel

NEW UPGRADED MODEL, MORE COMPACT, EASIER FIT, SAME PERFORMANCE This is a pair of top quality, H4 LED headlights made with the latest high power SMDs which produce a clean focused light with no glare and a very well defined beam that replicates the low and main beam pattern of a standard H4...

www.classiccarleds.co.uk

Click to expand...

Wow!!! thank you for taking the time to make such a detailed reply, certainly food for thought. mine is a 1997 defender 110 300tdi van BTW.

I think i will do as you advise, try a few options of bulbs and give them a try to see what suits me, i think i'll probably stick with normal bulbs and try some variations to see which gives the best dipped light. to be fair the high beam is good it just needs a bit more in the low beam area and maybe a bit whiter.

thanks again

Steve

300bhp/ton said:

However there are lots of 55/60w bulbs that offer higher outputs. These seem a sensible option these days. Although some have a blue tint on the bulb which I'm personally less keen on. Such as the Osram Nightbreakers:

NIGHT BREAKER LASER H4 | OSRAM Automotive

www.osram.com

I found the colour temp changed from dip to mainbeam, which really irritated me and mainbeam while bright just wasn't a very nice tint for country driving, making the greens and browns all appear a bit more grey'ish.

I prefer their silver line as the tint is nicer and more consistent:

NIGHT BREAKER SILVER H4 | OSRAM Automotive

www.osram.com

Click to expand...

The blue-tinted bulbs appear brighter in that they dazzle more, but the blue light is worse on your eyes than white and is harder to focus on, making it more difficult to actually see. And by filtering the light, you're reducing the useful output as well!

I run a selective yellow bulb on my bike (think old French cars) and that is much better for night riding as all the glaring blue light is gone. Plus the relative rarity of yellow makes it stand out better against everyone else's DRLs or headlights in traffic.